Races of Classic Spelljammer
The Spelljammer: Shadow of the Spider Moon setting uses races and monsters from the core D&D rulebooks exclusively. But that’s no reason for you to ignore the wide variety of interesting character options available in past Spelljammer products. As a previous column showed, you can work just about any new creature into the Spider Moon setting with just a little effort and ingenuity.
Here, then, are three playable PC races for your Spelljammer campaign, drawn from AD&D 2nd Edition, along with a truly vile race that makes a perfect enemy for your game.
Giff
The giff are strong, tusken mercenaries whose entire lives are based around honor and discipline. They are proud warriors who revel in battle, regardless of the cause. A typical giff towers 9 feet in height, with broad shoulders and thick limbs to match. Giff are usually lawful neutral; non-lawful giff are considered outcasts.
The overwhelming majority of giff are fighters, though the race has plenty of rogues serving as scouts and spies. Particularly noble giff might become paladins. Due to the race’s lawful bent, barbarians and bards are virtually unknown among them.
If your game includes firearms, the giff take to them naturally, greatly appreciating the power (and volume) created by such weapons.
Giff in a Shadow Moon Campaign: The giff are visitors to this system, as they are to all systems. Most will be found serving aboard spelljamming vessels of nearly any race: As long as the pay is good and battle plentiful, most giff are happy simply to obey orders. That said, they won’t long serve a master who doesn’t treat them with respect.
Giff Racial Traits
 | +6 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom. Giff are extraordinarily powerful, but not terribly bright or perceptive. |
| Large. As Large creatures, giff suffer a -1 size penalty to attack rolls and AC, and a -4 size penalty on Hide checks. They may use larger weapons than humans use, and their lifting and carrying limits are twice those of Medium-size characters. A giff also has a natural reach of 10 feet. |
| Giff base speed is 30 feet. |
| Natural Armor: Giff have a +4 natural armor bonus. |
| Head-Butt: A giff can deliver a head-butt as a standard action, dealing 1d8 points of damage plus one and one-half his Strength bonus. A giff cannot combine a head-butt with other attacks. |
| Spell Resistance: Giff are naturally resistant to magic. A giff’s SR equals his effective character level plus 3. A giff cannot voluntarily lower his spell resistance, even for beneficial magic such as healing. |
| Malfunctioning Magic: The giff’s resistance to magic extends even to magic items worn or used by the giff. Any magic item activated via spell completion (such as scrolls), spell trigger (such as wands and staffs), or a command word or mental activation (such as a ring of invisibility) has a 10% chance of simply not functioning when activated by a giff. Thus, most giff stick to magic items that don’t require such activation, such as weapons, armor, potions, and the like. |
| Automatic Languages: Common and Giff. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Elven, and Orc. Giff find it useful to know the languages of their enemies…or their employers. |
| Preferred Class: Fighter. A multiclass giff’s fighter class does not count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing. All giff are natural-born warriors. |
| Level Adjustment: +2. The giff’s prodigious Strength and natural armor make them significantly more powerful than a typical human. A 1st-level giff fighter’s effective character level is 3. |
Grommam
Grommams are peaceful, forest-dwelling gorillalike humanoids with a close-knit, highly religious society. They have dark brown skin and short, coppery hair over their entire bodies except on their faces, palms, and soles. They communicate by means of body language and a range of vocal hoots and growls.
Male and female grommams have very different roles in their society. The males perform the heavy labor and defend the home, while the females deal with domestic and political matters, as well as oversee the grommams’ religious lives.
Grommams in a Shadow Moon Campaign: The grommams are native to a relatively small region of the jungle world Verdura, where they must struggle to survive against the deadly reptilian fauna common to that world—including their hated enemies, the yuan-ti.
Grommam Racial Traits
| +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom (male); +2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, -2 Strength, -2 Dexterity (female). Male grommams are agile and strong, but less intellectually oriented than the females, who conversely are less physically powerful. |
| Medium-size: As Medium-size creatures, grommams have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size. |
| Grommam base speed is 20 feet, whether walking or climbing. Their natural climb speed grants them a +8 bonus to Climb checks. |
| +2 racial bonus on Listen checks. Grommams have keen ears, and are capable of distinguishing a wide variety of sounds. |
| Ambidextrous: Grommams get Ambidexterity as a bonus feat. |
| Large Weapon Use: A grommam’s build allows it to wield weapons as if it were a Large creature. For instance, a grommam can wield a human greatsword (a Large weapon) in one-hand, and can wield a Medium-size weapon, such as a battleaxe, as if it were a light weapon. |
| Unusual Body Shape: The grommam's barrel chest, short legs, and long arms require them to wear armor specially fitted to them. Such armor costs twice the normal list price. |
| Malfunctioning Magic: Grommams are innately anti-magical. Any magic item activated via command word or mental activation (such as a ring of invisibility) has a 40% chance of simply not functioning when activated by a grommam. Thus, most grommams stick to magic items that don’t require such activation, such as weapons, armor, potions, and the like. Grommams also suffer a -6 penalty to Use Magic Device checks. |
| Preferred Class: Fighter (male) or cleric (female). A multiclass male grommam’s fighter class, or a multiclass female grommam’s cleric class, does not count when determining whether he or she suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing. |
| Level Adjustment: +1. The grommam’s racial traits make them more powerful than a human. A 1st-level grommam cleric’s effective character level is 2. |
Hadozee
Commonly called “deck apes” by other races, the hadozee are tall, slender humanoids who take naturally to serving aboard a spelljamming vessel. Their bodies are covered in a light brown fur, and their faces ringed by a shaggy mane. Their most unusual physical feature, however, is the pair of skin flaps that connect its arms to its legs. When drawn tight, these flaps allow the hadozee to glide, much like a flying squirrel.
Hadozee in a Shadow Moon Campaign: The hadozee are native to the elven forest planet of Perianth, and are most often encountered aboard elven vessels.
Hadozee Racial Traits
| +2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma. Hadozee are agile and dextrous, but their coarse natures rub most people the wrong way. |
| Medium-size: As Medium-size creatures, hadozees have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size. |
| Hadozee base speed is 30 feet. |
| +4 racial bonus on Climb checks: The hadozee’s strong fingers and dextrous toes make them excellent climbers. |
| Natural Armor: A hadozee has a +1 natural armor bonus. |
| Ambidexterity: A hadozee can wield weapons in both hands (or in hand and foot, since their feet are as dextrous as their hands) as if it had the Ambidexterity feat. |
| Gliding: A hadozee wearing light or no armor can glide through the air by spreading the membranes on its wings. Though a hadozee can’t take off or gain altitude, they can “fly” at a speed of 20 feet (clumsy maneuverability). However, for every 10 feet of flying movement, a hadozee loses 5 feet of altitude. A hadozee’s membranes also grant it a +5 bonus to Jump or Tumble checks made to reduce damage from a fall, but only when wearing light or no armor. |
| Preferred Class: Fighter. A multiclass hadozee’s fighter class does not count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing. Hadozees take naturally to the life of a soldier, and most serving aboard spelljammers are fighters. |
Vodoni
Originally presented in Grant Boucher’s campaign-length adventure SJA4: Under the Dark Fist, the Vodoni hail from a far-distant star system (or crystal sphere, if you’re using the traditional SJ cosmology). For centuries, the Vodoni Empire has sought to expand its reach. Though the empire experienced a significant setback some years ago at the hands of adventurers hailing from a system designated for conquest by the Vodoni, the empire is not so fragile as to be destroyed by such events. Like an injured predator, the Vodoni Empire retreated to lick its wounds…and learn from its mistakes.
The vast majority of the Vodoni people are essentially identical to humans in all respects. Two special “castes” of Vodoni bear mentioning, however.
The “breeders” are the nobles of the empire, trained physically and mentally to rule over the lesser people. Breeders are effectively human, though being hand-selected to undergo the training means they tend to be more able than a typical Vodoni citizen. They derive their name from the fact that they are responsible for supplying the empire with the wolflike enforcers who serve as an elite fighting force (see below).
Vodoni in a Shadow Moon Campaign: The Vodoni hail from a far-distant star system, and have only recently discovered the Pyre and its orbiting worlds. Only a few scouts are currently in the system, but more will undoubtedly arrive before long, as the empire seeks to add these planets to its holdings.
Vodoni Breeder Racial Traits
The Vodoni breeder has all the racial traits of a human, with the following additions and changes:
| Superior Ability Scores: Roll 6d6 and discard the lowest 3 dice when generating starting abilities. Only the best citizens are selected to become breeders, resulting in higher average ability scores for such individuals. |
| Immune to Lycanthropy: The breeders are immune to all forms of lycanthropy, a side effect of their work breeding the Vodoni enforcers. |
| Lawful Evil: All Vodoni breeders are wholly lawful evil by the time they finish their training, though it is theoretically possible that one removed from his traditional surroundings might change his alignment over time. |
| Preferred Class: Sorcerer. A multiclass breeder’s sorcerer class does not count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing. All breeders are selected and trained for sorcerous aptitude. Many multiclass as sorcerer/fighters or sorcerer/rogues. |
| Level Adjustment: +1. The Vodoni breeder’s higher than average ability scores make them more powerful than a typical human. A 1st-level vodoni sorcerer’s effective character level is 2. |
The “enforcers” are bestial warriors, created by magical processes mastered long ago by the breeders. Though born as normal Vodoni citizens, potential enforcers are infected with a disease closely resembling lycanthropy and then taken to the Undercity for testing and training. Only the strongest and most feral survive to become true enforcers. By the time a typical enforcer finishes its transformation from “normal” Vodoni to wolflike warrior, it has lost any class levels it previously possessed, as well as any racial traits it had. Most gain levels in fighter (indeed, the average enforcer encountered is probably at least a 7th-level fighter), though rangers and rogues are not uncommon. Perhaps surprisingly, very few enforcers become barbarians.
When calm, a Vodoni enforcer looks much like a werewolf in hybrid form: humanoid shape with a wolflike head and sharp talons. When it enters its blood rage, it froths at the mouth and howls uncontrollably.
Vodoni Enforcer Racial Traits
| +2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Con, -2 Int. The enforcers are physically powerful, but the horrible ordeal of transformation damages their intellect. |
| Medium-size: As Medium-size creatures, enforcers have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size. |
| Enforcer base speed is 30 feet. |
| Low-light Vision: Enforcers can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions. |
| Chaotic: By their nature, all Vodoni enforcers are chaotic. The vast majority are chaotic evil, though some rare exceptions could exist. |
| Natural Attacks: An enforcer’s bite deals 1d6 points of damage, while its two claw attacks each deal 1d4 points of damage (with a -5 penalty to base attack bonus, as they are secondary weapons). It may make a bite or claw attack in addition to weapon attacks, but at a -5 penalty to its base attack bonus. |
| Blood Rage: If a Vodoni enforcer’s bite attack deals damage to a living creature, the enforcer must succeed at a Will save (DC 15 + character level) or go into a blood rage (the enforcer cannot voluntarily fail this save). This is identical to a barbarian’s rage, except that an enforcer in a blood rage cannot attack with weapons, instead using its bite and claws to the exclusion of all other attack forms. The blood rage lasts as long as the enforcer can still see any foes, and for 10 rounds plus 1 round per point of Constitution bonus thereafter. It does not result in fatigue afterward, however, the enforcer may only enter a blood rage once per hour. |
| Quasi-Lycanthropic Curse: Vodoni enforcers all carry a unique form of lycanthropy inflicted upon them by the breeders. Remove disease and similar techniques are useless for “curing” this variant of lycanthropy. Luckily, however, it can only be inflicted by a long and arduous process, and not by mere injury as can normal lycanthropy. An enforcer can be returned to normal Vodoni (human) form if reduced to 0 or fewer hp (but not killed) and the following spells cast, in order, upon it by a caster of at least 15th level: neutralize poison, remove curse, and heal. |
| Preferred Class: Fighter. A multiclass enforcer’s fighter class does not count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing. All Vodoni enforcers receive training in the art of combat. |
| Level Adjustment: +2. The Vodoni enforcer’s powerful physical abilities and blood rage make them significantly more powerful than a typical human. A 1st-level enforcer fighter’s effective character level is 3. |
Note that unlike most rules material on the site, these racial traits (as well as all other Spelljammer: Shadow of the Spider Moon rules material) aren't Open Content. Since the plans for any future published support for Spider Moon are still up in the air, I have to keep this material proprietary--for now. Still, that shouldn't keep you from enjoying them and using them in your home campaigns. Thanks!